Why every day is a good news day in Bridlington

White rabbits. Welcome to September. Another month gone, autumn's nip is in the air. What better way to keep summery cheerfulness alive than to bathe in the warmth of the Bridlington Free Press's "good news" page, an online concentration of all the uplifting stories published by the paper during the week.

Given the gloom of most journalism, the headlines read like a startling parody: Bridlington is one of the best places in the world, Nursery is outstanding, Hospital brightened up, Golden couple celebrate, Sponsored night trek is a huge success. Even the Guardian figures: our travel blogger Tony Naylor's discovery of the fabulous snack caravan at Bempton Cliffs is up there with the rest of the bliss.

Alright, too much cheeriness can be yawn-inducing, or even worsen the mood of those already prone to gloom. But at least English doesn't have an exact equivalent of the German term schadenfreude – deriving enjoyment from the misery of others – although something similar perhaps influences the selection of media stories outside the delightful world of the BFP.

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Not in Formby, mind you. The local Formby Times has found a contemporary way of using the net for traditional community-strengthening via its Open Mic section. This serves the simple purpose of showcasing local singers and bands, of whom there are impressive numbers.

I have cloth ears and no wish or reason to engage musicians of any sort, but I much recommend Open Mic for enjoyable reading, quite apart from its main purpose. Arts criticism has always baffled me, but it often has a curious vigour. Take this example, about two songs from Open Mic's girl trio Stealing Sheep: "If 'With a wand' is a strawberry — lush, cheery and sweet, then 'What if the lights went out' is more of an avocado, soft, lovely but unfamiliar." Mmm. And there's more. "Whilst it retains the same beauty and innocence of the first EP, a new distinctive, refined sound has developed, as wisdom and love collide."

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Trying to track the reality of the northern economy is a challenging task, with misery merchants and over-optimists waging an endless war. I find that a good guide, at least west of the Pennines, is North West Business Insider, which someone obligingly emails to me several times a week.

Today's has just landed, and a swift scan through its stories shows how the picture is neither black nor white, but grey. A warning that take-up of office space in Manchester was down 28% during the second quarter of 2010 is balanced by property companies' conclusions that "demand remains strong for industrial lettings in established locations".

Two other developments add interest. At a time when every day brings another story about a pub closing, the Preston-based firm Amber Taverns has secured £6.25m credit from Lloyds TSB to buy 60 failing pubs over the next four years.

Secondly, Business Insider reports on a bright suggestion from Somerset county council that it could twin up with Cumbria and Suffolk in a Local Enterprise Partnership based on shared dependency on the nuclear industry. The word "local" seems at odds with such long-distance links, but Somerset argues that the nuclear "theme" creates a sort of virtual neighbourliness which would qualify for the government-supported status. Insider sadly understands, however, that "Cumbria thinks Somerset is too far away" – an unenterprising attitude more commonly held by the south about the north.

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Did you know that there was a website called Big Cat Monitors? Don't go there if you are at work, because you'll spend all day doing little else. It's particularly popular in Derbyshire, according to the Matlock Mercury, which reports the latest in a long list of vast feline sightings in or around the Peak District.

"Shocked cyclist" Adam Gladwin, 28, described a "huge animal crossing the road in front of his bike" that almost stopped him from pedalling to work at 5am. He tells the Mercury: "I was unsure whether to keep going. I called in to the paper shop and told them what I'd seen and they said there had been other sightings in the area. I've also heard that the creature has been going in the bins at DFS."

A sofa-eating cat! Whatever next? Or does he mean that the animal was relieving itself? Given the possible resemblance of a DFS bin to a very large litter-tray, that raises all sorts of possibilities for Big Cat Monitor. Watch that space (but not when at work).

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The Blyth and Ashington News Post Leader has always been favourite of mine, because of its apparent inability to decide on a simple name. This week I discovered its excellent Where in the World? section, another clever and interesting use of the web by a local paper.

In previous Northerners I've highlighted similar features, which essentially invite expat readers to explain why they didn't stay loyal and local, describe where they've gone and generally keep in touch. I remember a man from Huddersfield who told the Examiner there how he was helping to build an enormous tunnel in Hong Kong, just as his forbears bored beneath the Pennines for their trains and canal barges.

But the News Post Leader has a truly exceptional range of colours and symbols to choose for the "pin" which shows where you are on a map of the world. Most participants have gone for red, with a sizeable minority favouring the mini-sunflower alternative, but in all there are 31 options, one of them called "mold". Intrigued by this, I invented an expat called Bill Berry (after my favourite Northern fruit) and added him to the map, in Shanghai. Something went wrong with the co-ordinates and he ended up in the North Sea, just off Blyth, but I can report that "mold" is a rather tasteful shade of bluey-green.

The map is also rather sweet in the definition its users seem to have of expat. One of the little pins is in Bedlington, just a few miles away, and another in Blyth itself. But she moved from Ashington, where Blyth is considered as remote as the moon.

Martin Wainwright recommends

Plan ahead for this year's Heritage Open Days, which allow access to an amazing variety of usually closed, secret or otherwise hidden sites on September 9 – 12. My own city, Leeds, has more than anywhere else in the UK – yo! – but you'll undoubtedly find something curious and worthwhile near you.

If you're anywhere near the Lakes this weekend, head for Windermere to watch an estimated 9,000 participants leap into its chilly waters in the Great North Swim, as the nation unites against obesity.(NOTE: This event has since been cancelled. See comments below)

And finally… I should have given you an actual example of Bridlington's good news, so here is one: the local town crier Michael Wood came second in his profession's national championships. His cry includes the excellent passage: "Pensioners, enjoy a daytime donkey ride, or maybe a midnight skinny dip, in Bridlington Bay: Acapulco of the North East! God bless Yorkshire. God save the Queen."

He tells the Free Press: "I actually had a group of Americans in the crowd tell me that they were wondering where they should visit next and now they knew." Spot on.